“The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar” (Acts 21:30-31).
This wasn’t the first time Paul faced death. In Lystra he had been stoned and left for dead. In his letter to the Corinthians, he told of the difficulties he had faced as a messenger of the gospel. “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers” (2 Corinthians 11:4-6).
Whatever else we may say about Paul we must admit that he was a man of great courage. He believed that his message was important enough that he was willing to die for it. Courage isn’t recklessness because it still values life. It is that strength of character that faces danger with an unyielding commitment to a cause worth dying for. Paul was willing to consistently risk his life to carry the gospel to others.
As the Roman soldiers rescue him from the angry lynch mob what does Paul do? He gives the mob the testimony of his miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. That encounter changed his life and he was willing to risk everything to tell others about Jesus who met him so that they might believe in Him, too.
Our story of the grace of God that changed us is worth dying for. It may take courage to tell it, but it’s that important!
